Improvement in gilding and ornamenting glass signs



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Letters Patent No. 79,303datecl Jane 30, 1868.

IMPROVEMENT IN GILDING'AND ORNAMENTING GLASS SIGNS.

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TO ALI. WHOM IT 5 MAYCIONCE'RIl'z4 Be it knownthat I, J; B. BLAIR, of Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new Process and Stylo of Gilding'Glass and other Signs, which processincludesthe painting? thereof; and Ido hereby declarethnt the following is a full and exact description of tho'same. reference being had'to the accompanying drawings, andto the letters of reference marked thereon.

The nature of my invention consists in the adaptation of thc process of chromo-gelatin photographyto the execution of ornamental gilding and painting, especially as applied to the manufacture of that class of glass:

signs which requirea number of dupliations.

In order to have a full understanding of the purpose yand, 4processes of -this intention, it is necessary 'to refer to what has been done heretofore bythe photographicprocess herein referred to, and'to com paremy process and results therewith. I l

Theglnss sign is contini` with a photo-sensitiresubstance,'well known 'as the phptogr'aphic mixture of the chromate of potash and gela-tin.4 This substance has hitherto been used mainly for the purpose of making pictures which represent the e`ects of lights` and shadesas seen in nature, and for this purpose but a single negative iS-required, which negative necessarily embraces all of the elements ofthe design, and consequently ,but

a single impression. can he'made u'pon the same pla-te, and that impression is also necessarily monochromatic.l On the contrary, I use this substance to print a'gild'ed 'and many-colored ornamental design, and to do this I use a series of negatives, through which I make a succession of impressions, corresponding to the number of colors in tho design.

Further, while heretofore the-application of vcolor to the design'was either byl mixing it with the gelatin,

or, in a dry state, .it was rubbed upon the gelatin image,and made to adhere thereto by-virtue of 'thel glutinous property of the gelatin, I, on theicontrary, inaddition to this mode of 'colorin-g,also mix the color-'with' an asphaltic or resinousvnrnish, ina manner hereinafter described.

Further, while hitherto, if -the metals were used instead ofcolor, it was only'iu the form of so-called vbronze, or in a finely-'divided state,'and used as a pigment," that is to say,'r ubbed upon the gelatinpprint to produce the eect of light andV shade in the picture, I, on Athe centrar 7, apply the metals in leaf, and produce the' effect of gilding by a.l noveltprocess hereinafter'described.

Furthermorawhile heretofore the uses to which theart of chromo-gelatin photography was applied 'were in producing pictorial effects, I, on the contrary, apply it to gilding and ornamental painting, and thereby produce a 'new article of manufacture. v l

To enable others skilled in thelart to make and use my invgention, I will proceed to describe the same, and the process thereof. v i

Figure 1, in the drawings, represents a finished sign on glass,

Figure 2 a negative'design, and

Figure 3 a. supplemental negative design.

The negative desig-nmay be any print, photograph, or drawing, and must be used as a negative, in manner o'f photographic printing. But's the design will frequently, in whole or part, bc required to he diaphanous on a dark ground, I make such a drawing as follows: -With a thick solution of gum-arabic, I mix `a little indigo, to give it color, und make the drawing therewith in the same manner as with India ink, and then .I .mix lamphlack and turpentine, and a. very little drying-oil, into a thin' paint, and spread it over the drawing with a soft brush. After giving it four or five, minutes timet'or the excess of turpentine t6 evaporate, I immerse it in water, where I allow it to remain four or live minutes, when the gum of the drawing can readily be removed by passing a soft brush over the surface, leavingthe design diaphanous onnn opaque ground, fig. 2. When dry, it is ready for use. The photo-sensitive coating-solution is made of one'ounce of gelatin dissolved in eight ounces of.

water, to which is added one-half ounce of the saturated solution of one of thc chromates, (chromatc of ammov Ania, bichrmate of ammoniac-chromate of potash, or bichromate of -potash.) This solution must be kept and used in a dark room.

Printing. Coat the plate with the solution in theusual manner of coating with eollodion, and when dry place it on a printing-board, with the negative design adjusted upon it, whichmust be secured in position by being covered with another piece of glass. Expose the plate to the light for a few seconds; then return to the dark room, and wash it in water warmed to a. .temperature of 'from 100 to 150. 'lhe plate can new be set aside,'to be gilded at any future period, or it can be immediately proceeded with.

Gtldng. 1. If thefplate is dry, wet lit, and 'lay on the gold or other metallic leaf, and allow it to dry. Then, with a wad of cotton, gently rub the gilding, to give it a polish. The design will n'ow be shown in frosted lights on a burnished ground, A, B, and C, iig. 1.

, Gz'lding. 2. When the gilt ground is not te be retained, and the letter' or design 1s only to be in gilt on some other ground, then I proceed as follows: After having laid the leaf on the glass, in the usual way practised by workmen, I spread over the leaf a strong asphaltic or resinous varnish, and when dry, I print. thereon the gelatin, after which the glass is placed in turpentine, when thcvarnish that is unprotected by the gelatine will be dissolved o ii, and leave the .leaf exposed, so that it may be removed by rubbing with a wad of damp cotton, in'the usual manner as practised by gilders.

I Calor. 1. Those portions of the design requiring color may be printed with a supplemental negative design, Sg. 3. The desired color mustbe mixed with the solution, and theplate coated therewith, exposed to light,and washed, all as before described. l

Color. f2. Should the eect oi' oil-color be required, then the color or pigment should be mixed with the nsphaltic or resinous varnish, 4beiore specilied with reference Ato gilding, and then spread over the several parts of the glass appropriated to the respectivecolors, after which the gelatin print must be made upon the colored varnish. Thegluss must new be immersed in turpentine, whie'uwill dissolve oil` the colored varnisl: that is unprotected by the gelatin print. Any number of supplemental designs, to print letters, shadows,'or ornaments, can in likemanner successively follow each other, each imprinting a different color, and thus giving the desired complexity to the work, which may now be finished by painting over the heck of thc sign any suitable color, to secure and give support to the generalai'ork.

I do not claim glass signs for commercial advertising, for they are made in the ordinary way by hand, but

in a style necessarily differing from those resulting-from the process herein described; nor dd I claim the chemical substnnces herein speci-fied as photographic agents, for their properties havel been known; neither do I limit my claim to the chemicals speciiied, for other combinations will produce similar results; but

What I do claim, and desire "to sccurd by Letters Patent, is

The production of duplicates in plain or ornamental gilding orpainting, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

J. B. BLAIR.

Witnesses:

Tnao. S. Haenen, J. KLEM Pearse. 

